Immunological identification of Trypanosoma cruzi lineages in human infection along the endemic area

RISSO M; SARTOR P; BURGOS JM; BRICEÑO L; RODRIGUEZ EM; GUHL F; TRIANA CHAVEZ O; ESPINOSA B; MONTEON V; RUSSOMANDO G; SCHIJMAN A; BOTTASSO O; LEGUIZAMON MS

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE

AMER SOC TROP MED & HYGIENE

Lugar: Atlanta; Año: 2011 vol. 84 p. 78 - 84

0002-9637

Genotyping studies show a polarized geographic distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi lineages in humans. Here, we assessed their distribution along Latin America through an immunological approach we designated Western blot (WB) assay with Trypomastigote small-surface antigen (TSSA) I and TSSA II (TSSA-WB). These antigens are expressed byT. cruzi I (TCI; now TcI) and T. cruzi II (TCII; reclassified as TcII to TcVI) parasites. TSSA-WB showed good concordance with genotyping tests. An unexpected frequency of TSSA II recognition was observed in Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico (northern region of Latin America). In Argentina and Paraguay (southern region), immunophenotyping confirmed the already reported TCII (TcII to TcVI) dominance. The lineage distribution between these regions showed significant difference but not among countries within them (except for Colombia and Venezuela). TSSA-WB shows TCII emergence in the northern region where TCI was reported as dominant or even as the unique T. cruzi.